IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance (IOSR-JEF)

e-ISSN: 2321-5933, p-ISSN: 2321-5925.Volume 6, Issue 3. Ver. III (May.-Jun. 2015), PP 36-40
www.iosrjournals.org

A New Era of Currency Derivatives Market in India

Dr. E.V.P.A.S.Pallavi,
Assistant Professor, School of Management Studies,
M.V.G.R. College of Engineering,
(Approved by AICTE, New Delhi & Affiliated to JNT University, Kakinada)
Vijaynagar campus, Chintalavalasa, Vizianagaram (Dist)-535005

Abstract: The introduction of currency derivatives in India has passed a journey of almost eight years and
many changes have been implemented in the trading system in this regard. The main theme of this paper is to
assess the development of currency derivatives in India. In order to study the growth of the currency derivatives,
the number of contracts traded, trading volume and open interest at NSE are studied. The currency derivatives
have received a good response from the investors as well as the hedgers. Currently, only resident Indians
(including individuals, companies and financial institutions) can trade in the four currency pairs available in
the local market-dollar/rupee, pound/rupee, euro/rupee and yen/rupee. Average turnover of these instruments
in the National Stock Exchange is eight times higher than a year earlier. The average daily turnover of currency
futures and currency options is Rs 16,778.20 crore in 2015. The risk involved is comparatively low in this case
and currency derivatives has proved to be a good tool for hedging the risk involved in the currency of a country
(currency risk). It is hoped that the currency derivatives market will develop faster and it will be a good choice
for all the market participants in the near future and it will find its way in the Indian economy.
Keywords: currency futures, currency options, open interest, volume traded.

I. Introduction
Derivative is a risk-shifting agreement, the value of which is derived from the value of an underlying
asset. The underlying asset could be a physical commodity, an interest rate, a company‟s stock, a stock index, a
currency, or virtually any other tradable instrument upon which two parties can agree. Derivatives fall into two
categories. One consists of customized, privately negotiated derivatives, which are known generally as over-the-
counter (OTC) derivatives, or even more generally, as swaps. The other category consists of standardized,
exchange-traded derivatives, known generally as futures
Each country has its own currency through which both national and international transactions are
performed. All the international business transactions involve an exchange of one currency for another. The
price of one currency in terms of other currency is known as exchange rate. The foreign exchange markets of a
country provide the mechanism of exchanging different currencies with one and another, and thus, facilitating
transfer of purchasing power from one country to another. With the multiple growths of international trade and
finance all over the world, trading in foreign currencies has grown tremendously over the past several decades.
Since the exchange rates are continuously changing, so the firms are exposed to the risk of exchange rate
movements. As a result the assets or liability or cash flows of a firm which are denominated in foreign
currencies undergo a change in value over a period of time due to variation in exchange rates. This volatility in
the value of assets or liabilities or cash flows is referred to exchange rate risk. Since the fixed exchange rate
system has been fallen in the early 1970s, specifically in developed countries, the currency risk has become
substantial for many business firms. As a result, these firms are increasingly turning to various risk hedging
products like forwards, futures, options and swaps.

Concept Of Derivatives
The term „derivatives, refers to a broad class of financial instruments which mainly include options and
futures. These instruments derive their value from the price and other related variables of the underlying asset.
They do not have worth of their own and derive their value from the claim they give to their owners to own
some other financial assets or security. A simple example of derivative is butter, which is derivative of milk.
The price of butter depends upon price of milk, which in turn depends upon the demand and supply of milk. The
general definition of derivatives means to derive something from something else.
The asset underlying a derivative may be commodity or a financial asset. Derivatives are those
financial instruments that derive their value from the other assets. For example, the price of gold to be delivered
after two months will depend, among so many things, on the present and expected price of this commodity.

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 A New Era of Currency Derivatives Market in India

Meaning And Definition Of Financial Derivatives:

Section 2(ac) of Securities Contract Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 defines Derivative as:
a) “A security derived from a debt instrument, share, loan whether secured or unsecured, risk Instrument or
contract for differences or any other form of security;
b) “A contract which derives its value from the prices, or index of prices, of underlying securities”.
Underlying Asset in a Derivatives Contract

As defined above, the value of a derivative instrument depends upon the underlying asset. The
underlying asset may assume many forms:
Commodities including grain, coffee beans, orange juice;
Precious metals like gold and silver;
Foreign exchange rates or currencies;
Bonds of different types, including medium to long term negotiable debt securities issued by governments,
companies, etc.
Shares and share warrants of companies traded on recognized stock exchanges and Stock Index Short term
securities such as T-bills; and Over- the Counter (OTC)

Classification Of Derivatives:
On the basis of this classification the derivatives can be financial or non – financial derivatives:
Financial derivatives: Those derivatives which are of in financial nature are called financial derivatives. They
are as follows:
(i) Forwards
(ii) Futures
(iii) Options
(iv) Swaps

The above financial derivatives may be in the form of credit derivatives, forex, currency fixed-income, interest,
insider trading and exchange traded.

Non-financial derivatives: Those derivatives which are not of financial nature are called non-financial
derivatives. They are as follows:
(i) Commodities
(ii) Metals
(iii) Weather
(iv) Others.

Currency Derivatives:
Currency derivatives are complex financial instruments which are traded over – the – counter and this
is a collective term used for futures, forwards and swaps. Currency derivatives are used for hedging. This
hedging involves a future payment or receive in a foreign currency.

Historical Back Ground Of Currency Derivatives:

Currency derivative are introduced in The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in the year of 1972.
The FX contract capitalized on the U.S. abandonment of the Bretton woods agreement, which had fixed world
exchange rates to a gold standard after World War II. The abandonment of the Bretton woods agreement
resulted in currency values being allowed to float increases the risk of doing a business, by creating another
market. The concept of Currency at CME was revolutionary, & gained credibility through endorsement of
Nobel-prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. Today, CME offers 41 individual FX futures & 31, options
contracts on 19 currencies. I t i s a l a r g e s t regulated marketplace for FX Trading. Traders of CME FX
futures are a diverse group that includes multinational corporations, hedge funds, commercial banks,
investment banks, financial managers, commodity trading advisors and individual investors. They trade
in order to transact business hedge against unfavorable changes in currency rates or to speculate on exchange
rate fluctuations

Types Of Currency Derivatives:

Currency forwards: A currency forward is an agreement between two parties where both the parties agreed to
buy/sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price in future. This involves future payment or receivable an
unknown foreign exchange rate.

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 A New Era of Currency Derivatives Market in India

Currency futures: A futures contract is a standardized contract, traded on an exchange, to buy or sell a certain
underlying asset or an instrument at a certain date in the future, at a specified price. When the underlying is an
exchange rate, the contract is termed a “currency futures contract”.

Currency options: A currency option is a contract giving the option purchaser (the buyer) the right, but not the
obligation, to buy or sell a fixed amount of foreign exchange at a fixed price per unit for a specified time period.

Currency swaps: A currency swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange cash flows in two different
currencies. The swap consists of interest rate differentials between currencies.

II. Review Of Literature

Nath and Lingareddy (2008) observed that with increased depth of Indian currency trading, which has
reached to a daily volume of around Rs. 2000-3000 crore, despite small contract size and low daily limits for
individuals and trading partners. Within a year of its inception, MCX-SX has achieved stupendous growth in
average daily turnover and open interest. The average daily turnover increased from Rs. 355.66 crore during the
first month of operations to Rs. 16,980 crore for the month of February 2010.
Guru (2009) indicated that the global markets (mainly USA) become active only after Indian markets
close at 5.00 pm and as a result there is an evident fear about the risks associated with overnight fluctuations in
the currency pair. Once the Indian markets close, the positions cannot be reversed by the traders till the next
day. Dharen Kumar Pandey (2011) stated that The Indian currency futures market has experienced an
impressive growth since its introduction. The upward trend of the volumes and open interest for currency futures
in both NSE and MCX explains the whole story in detail. The growth was only the reason for the introduction of
three other currency futures in January this year. In the coming future it is expected that the market participants
will find some more currency futures introduced into the market. Currently on 26th March, 2010 the SEBI
allowed the United Stock Exchange of India to launch currency futures.

Research Objective: The main objective is to know the development patterns of currency derivatives in India
with respect to National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Development Of Currency Derivatives Market In India:

NSE is one of the major stock exchanges in India. The Indian markets have shown a remarkable
growth both in terms of volumes and numbers of contracts. Introduction of derivatives trading in 2000, in Indian
markets was the starting of equity derivative market which has registered on explosive growth and is expected to
continue the same in the years to come. NSE alone accounts 99% of the derivatives trading in Indian markets.
Introduction of derivatives has been well received by stock market players. Derivatives trading gained
popularity after its introduction in very short time. The Currency Derivatives segment at NSE commenced
operations on August 29, 2008 with the launch of currency futures trading in US Dollar-India Rupee (USD-
INR). Trading in other currency pairs like Euro-INR, Pound Sterling-INR and Japanese Yen-INR was further
made available for trading in March 2010. On the same segment, interest rate futures were introduced for
trading on August 31, 2009.
The trading activity in currency futures has been witnessing a rapid growth. The total traded volume
from August 2008 was 1,62,272.43 crore and increased by 998.53% to 5,36,902.44 crore in 2014-15. Total
number of contracts traded during 2008 -09 were 3, 26,72,768. The average traded volumes during the same
period were 7,428 crore (US $ 1,645 million). The business growth of Currency Futures Segment is shown in
Table -1.

Table 1: Business Growth of Currency Derivatives Segment at NSE

Year Total Number of Total Turnover Average Daily Turnover
Contracts (Rs in Crs) (Rs in Crs)
2015-2016 8,31,60,350 5,36,902.44 16,778.20
2014-2015 48,06,64,694 30,23,907.67 12,705.49
2013-2014 66,01,92,530 40,12,513.45 16,444.73
2012-2013 95,92,43,448 52,74,464.65 21,705.62
2011-2012 97,33,44,132 46,74,989.91 19,479.12
2010-2011 74,96,02,075 34,49,787.72 13,854.57
2009-2010 37,86,06,983 17,82,608.04 7,427.53
2008 - 2009 3,26,72,768 1,62,272.43 1,167.4
(Source: Compiled from NSE)

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 A New Era of Currency Derivatives Market in India

Table 2: Number of Contracts traded in NSE at Currency Derivatives Segment

Year Currency Futures Currency Options Total Contracts
(No of Contracts) (No of Contracts)
2015-2016 5,59,61,924 2,71,98,426 8,31,60,350
2014-2015 35,55,88,963 12,50,75,731 48,06,64,694
2013-2014 47,83,01,579 18,18,90,951 66,01,92,530
2012-2013 68,41,59,263 27,50,84,185 95,92,43,448
2011-2012 70,13,71,974 27,19,72,158 97,33,44,132
2010-2011 71,21,81,928 3,74,20,147 74,96,02,075
2009-2010 37,86,06,983 - 37,86,06,983
2008 - 2009 3,26,72,768 - 3,26,72,768
(Source: Compiled from NSE)

Table 3: Total Turnover of Currency Derivatives Segment at NSE

Year Currency Futures Currency Options Total Turnover
(in Crs) (in Crs) (in Crs)
2015-2016 3,63,394.61 1,73,507.83 5,36,902.44
2014-2015 22,47,992.34 7,75,915.32 30,23,907.67
2013-2014 29,40,885.92 10,71,627.54 40,12,513.45
2012-2013 37,65,105.33 15,09,359.32 52,74,464.65
2011-2012 33,78,488.92 12,96,500.98 46,74,989.91
2010-2011 32,79,002.13 1,70,785.59 34,49,787.72
2009-2010 17,82,608.04 - 17,82,608.04
2008 - 2009 1,62,272.43 - 1,62,272.43
(Source: compiled from NSE)

Open Interest:
Open Interest is the total number of outstanding contracts that are held by market participants at the end
of the day. It can also be defined as the total number of futures contracts or option contracts that have not yet
been exercised (squared off), expired, or fulfilled by delivery.
Open interest applies primarily to the Futures Market. Open interest, or the total number of open
contracts on a security, is often used to confirm trends and trend reversals for Futures And Options contracts.
Open interest measures the flow of money into the futures market. For each seller of a futures contract there
must be a buyer of that contract. Thus a seller and a buyer combine to create only one contract. Therefore, to
determine the total open interest for any given market we need only to know the totals from one side or the
other, buyers or sellers, not the sum of both. The open interest position that is reported each day represents the
increase or decrease in the number of contracts for that day, and it is shown as a positive or negative number.

Table 4: Relationship between Price, trend and Open Interest

Price Open Interest Interpretation
Rising Rising Market is Strong
Rising Falling Market is Weakening
Falling Rising Market is Weak
Falling Falling Market is Strengthening

Table 5: Records achieved in the Currency Futures & Options Segment from the date of
inception till 31 March 2014
Currency Derivatives Segment Date Number/value
Record number of trades 20-Jun-13 390,049
Record number of contracts 20-Jun-13 11,534,563
Record Daily Notional Turnover (` Crores) 20-Jun-13 69,323.90
(Source: NSE fact book 2014)

It can be observed the records achieved in the currency futures & Options segment from the date of
inception. As the currency futures trading started at NSE on August 29, 2009 and currency options trading
started on October 29, 2010. Since its inception currency futures & options are showing tremendous
performance in terms of trades, contracts and turnover. The total trades recorded under this segment were 3,
90,049 total contracts were 11,534,563. Further if we observe the daily notional turnover 69,323.90 crores on
June 20, 2013. This shows the currency derivatives segment is showing explosive growth in future currency
futures & options contracts on the basis of turnover it can be observed that Total Traded Value of Currency
Futures & Options for FY 2013-14 is ` 4012513.45 Crores.

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 A New Era of Currency Derivatives Market in India

Table 6: Top 5 Currency Futures & Options Contracts on the basis of turnover for the
financial year 2013 - 14
Rank Contract name Total Traded Value (%) to
Total Traded Total traded value
currency Futures & options
Quantity (in Crs)
Instrument Type contract symbol Total value traded
1 FUTCUR USDINR 76,525,555 442,867.94 11.04
2 FUTCUR USDINR 55,719,165 333,349.66 8.31
3 FUTCUR USDINR 58,638,824 321,910.37 8.02
4 OPTCUR USDINR 47,313,672 274,570.32 6.84
5 FUTCUR USDINR 38,522,829 249,298.08 6.21
(Source: NSE fact book 2014)

III. Conclusion
The Indian currency derivatives market has experienced an impressive growth since its introduction of
currency futures and options. The upward trend of the volumes and open interest for currency futures and
options in NSE explains the progress in detail. Currency futures has proved to be a good tool for hedging the
risk involved in the currency of a country (currency risk). It is hoped that the currency futures market will
develop faster and it will be a good choice for all the market participants in the near future and it will find its
way in the Indian economy. Currency futures and options are traded under exchange traded and over – the –
counter. The growth in terms of volumes and participants in the Exchange Traded Currency Derivative Segment
would improve the process of assimilation various global and domestic economic information into the markets
while it discovers its exchange rates. Extension of trading hours would also help participation in the exchange
traded currency derivatives markets to mature in terms of reflecting information into markets and thereby
become efficient in their price discovery process, besides remaining as the cost effective market for participants.

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